A Fox Out of Water
by Brianziggy
Summary: Gideon Grey ventures into the big city of Zootopia to try and expand his pie making business, however, in doing so, he's faced with a myriad of obstacles plus some new and exciting experiences. What's more shocking for Grey, the bustling city, or the possible budding feelings he has for a newcomer in his life.
1. Chapter 1 - An Important Meeting

"Why do these animals have to drive so dern fast?" Many thoughts were running through the black and orange fox while his paws gripped the wheel tightly. He turned his head back and forth frantically trying to find an opening to merge into the super highway that would lead him to his destination. He had never left the tri-burrows before in his life but since he had dominated the pie market in his surrounding home towns it was time he would try and expand his business to bigger markets. He would have never considered this if he hadn't been motivated by the courage that his new friend Judy showed by achieving the impossible. "Anyone can be anything" these words coming from the bunny in question rang in the fox's head, he had finally taking up the courage to contact a pie distributer that was located in Zootopia to get a meeting with one of the upper managers to try his pie for a possibility to set up shops around the different sections of Zootopia. Judy had become an inspiration to all critters outside of Zootopia to expand their limits and try new things. The fox successfully merged into the freeway and was speeding down the mega road to his meeting. His paws sweating at the wheel as he thought about what he would say and the multitude of different ways this could go horrible wrong for him. His ears lay flat on his head but he swallowed his fears and turned on the radio which was playing some of his favorite comfort songs from the multi-platinum country singer Tim McPaw. "Der' God in the morning what em I so afraid of? Not like these city slickers gone' eat me up or nothing." He laughed at the thought of a Gideon Grey Fox pie, which successfully calmed his nerves. His confidence was slowly recovering.

Gideon's eyes grew in size as he looked upon the city that was Zootopia, this was indeed a sight he never thought he would have the privilege of seeing. He parked his truck outside the city in a designated parking lot and took the train into city central which is where the distribution company building was located. He didn't need any of his equipment since the letter he received said specifically that all preparation tools and ingredients would be provided. The train ride there was an experience in and of itself, he really couldn't believe his eyes, the city was bigger than he could ever imagine. The train stopped, finally he had arrived, and he took a step out and looked around. His heart began to race at an alarming rate, never had this country fox ever seen so many critters in one place. "S'all good Gideon" the fox said to himself over and over, this was not working as well as the fox had hoped so in a panic he swung his body around and tried to get back onto the train, but alas he was too late, the door was already closed and the train was moving slowly to its next destination.

Gideon took a seat on a bench that was just outside of the train station. He sat and took in the city. He had only seen pictures of Zootopia when he was young as well as heard stories from traveling sales men that would frequently visit his farm. The noise was the biggest surprise to the bigger fox, the sounds of cars honking and the sound of a thousand conversations being had all at once. He reached inside his short's pocket and pulled out a gold chain watch, it was rough around the edges but it was his most prized possession, given to him by his father when was only 8 years old, a year before his daddy's passing. The lack of a father figure in his youth was a big contributor to why his childhood was a mess of anger, aggression, and bullying. The time was 12:30 and his meeting was not till later that evening. He had made sure to get in early to avoid any kind of complication that might arise and cause him to miss his meeting. With time to kill Gideon decided to visit his friend Judy at the police station in Central. Walking on the sidewalk down the road he found himself looking up at the large skyscrapers. He swore they went passed the clouds and some even further. He felt eyes on him constantly as he walked along, he did not quite fit in to his surroundings. It was very clear that he was from outside the city and even though visitors were welcome in Zootopia it was still a rare occurrence. He had on a button down red checkered shirt that tucked into a pair of slack shorts. The dead giveaway however was the orange suspenders that wrapped around his shoulders and connected to each end of his shorts.

The fox was nearly to the station but he stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a low deep growl come from his stomach. "Settle down there Gid, guess I got time for a bite" He looked around at the multitude of businesses around him and saw, down the street, a pizza joint called "Rhino's Pizza Palace." Underneath the sign read "Best Pizza in Zootopia." Gideon padded across the street and walked in the doors. "Well all be, the best pizza in all of dern Zootopia, I must be luckier than a rabbit's foot on a cricket's leg." The fox grabbed a slice and after a few bites he was experiencing heaven in triangular form. It seemed that everything in Zootopia was so much grander than in his home town. Though to this fox that did not necessarily mean anything good. He found his experience in the big city to be, so far, very impersonal. He was too used to having friendly conversation with the people he encountered in his day to day activities and his deliveries. A culture shock was indeed what the country fox was experiencing, but at least he had this good pizza to keep him company.

While walking out of the pizza palace he patted his full tummy and gave a deep growl burp before continuing on his way down the street. The orange fox was a tubby creature, his belly hung off his belt by a good inch or two and his build was big and tall by nature. This made Gideon's social life a little awkward, he never had much confidence in his looks. It was a major reason why he never bothered dating anyone in his town. The fox found himself deep in his thoughts while walking, what seemed like out of nowhere he found himself at the large police station. "Well that was mighty quick," he thought to himself. His gaze lead up the many stairs that connected to the entrance doors, finding no other way in he began to walk up the many steps. "Well I reckon I might as well work off some of that devilish pizza here." It took a good five minutes to reach the top of the marble stairs, he swung the doors open and walked in catching his breath.

The vestibule of the police station was gigantic, police officers were standing around chatting amongst themselves, some were talking to citizens, and he even saw some offices bringing in shady looking animals in handcuffs. He made his way to the counter in the middle of the room, the only officer that was behind the counter was a quite large cheetah that was off to the side talking rather enthusiastically to a fox. The fox was in a uniform and had sunglasses on, he was leaning on the counter laughing at something the cheetah had just told him. "Sunglasses inside a building? Well I suppose it takes all kinds o-people." It seemed the city was never going to stop surprising him. Gideon had hoped that the cheetah behind the counter would notice him, but after waiting what he thought to be a respectable amount of time, he decided to ring the bell that was in front of him.

As soon as the sound of the bell went off the cheetah behind the counter whipped his head around so hard his very fluffy cheeks jiggled a bit. He then made what Gideon could only describe as a light fast job over to the center of the counter and slammed both of his paws down on the surface. "OH NOOOO, IM AM SOOOOOO SORRY!" Gideon was completely taken a back from the sudden excitement in front of him, the cheetah had the most genuinely worried look on his face, like he had just slapped Gideon's own grandmother right in front of him. "Hi I'm Benjamin Clawhauser at your service how may I help you… Waaaat is that?" The cheetah reach his arm over the counter and before Gideon could react, took ahold of one of his suspenders. "oh LORD, this is sooooo cute, Look! At! You!" The cheetah was talking so fast and so loud Gideon couldn't process anything that was going on, he immediately felt several eyes on him from different surrounding officers and citizens. The large fox started to blush from embarrassment and looked down at the paw that was gripping his suspender in confusion. He regained his consciousness and swatted the paw away from his clothing. "I..I..I'm Gideon Grey here to see Officer Miss Judy Hops i..if you done mind Sir." Benjamin retracted his paw and gave the fox in front of him a smile, then turning his head to the officer behind him he yelled "Hey Nickyyyyy someone's here to see your girlfriend."

Gideon looked over at the fox who was walking towards him and taking his sunglasses off and resting them on top of his head in front of his ears. "Judy's is in a meeting with Chief big-horns for hair, and who might you be?" Gideon's mouth fell a bit and felt a little more at ease since he in fact knew who this fox was. "Oh my goodness you must be Mr. Nick Wilde, Judy has told me all about you in her letters, it is a pleasure, see me and Judy go way back and I was in the city and was a-wondering to catch up a-bit." Gideon reached out his paw and was greeted with a shake from the smaller fox. Nick broke the shake off and gave a friendly nod, "Well you're free to wait here Gideon I'm afraid it might be an hour or two but she would be happy to see a friend, she's been quite down lately." Gideon's ears drooped down and his smile was lost, "Oh fiddlesticks, I'm afraid that won't work, I do have some business to attend to her' in town, do tell her that I stopped by won't ya?" The cheetah jumped into the conversation excitedly "Why of course we will right Nicky, we will tell her a cute-ol-fox came in with suspenders looking for her." Gideon felt his embarrassment coming on again, so he quickly thanked the two and headed on his way toward his meeting.

It was night time and Gideon was seated on the train heading to the parking lot on the outskirts of town, his head was resting on the window as he looked out at the town at night light up and passing by. The meeting was a mess of confusion to him, the people that he met with were rather cold and after making them his signature blueberry pie, they had tasted it with a few bites and they ushered him out of the building with sayings such as "we will be in touch." But that wasn't what was bothering the country fox at that moment, he had other thoughts on his mind. Number one being, why couldn't he stop thinking about that police officer? What was his name again, Benny….Ben, Benjamin, yeah that was it. He couldn't get his warm smile out of his head. Something about him made the fox feel like maybe the city isn't such a bad place after all.


	2. Chapter 2 - Pink Squirrels

Chapter 2 - Pink Squirrels

"Look at that ther' blue sky Travis, it's a day just-a screaming to be explored." Gideon, the chubby country fox, was looking outside his bakery's front window. Travis, his business partner, was busy rolling out some dough behind the counter. Travis and Gideon had known each other ever since they were children, and it was with Travis that Gideon decided to pursue his hidden talent of baking as a profession. Travis the weasel wiped a bead of sweat away from his forehead, "Gideon I'm sure the distributers will call anytime now don't ya worry none." The fox looked down passed the white gate in front of the bakery and studied a group of children playing a rather disorganized version of football in the street. Travis knew Gideon like the back of his paw, the predator was anxious, nervous even. "Tell ya what Gideon, why don't you run these deliveries around, Matts busy in the back and the fresh air will do ya some good."

The truck was humming along the dirt path, windows open and the sun shining bright in front of the fox as he made his way to the day's last stop. He always saved the Hopps as his last delivery, he enjoyed catching up and messing around with some of the younger bunnies. He saw the carrot stand in the distance so he swerved on the side and got out into the beating sun. "Hotter than a billy goat with a blowtorch out here ain't it Mr. H?" Mr. Hopp's met the fox with a smile as he took ahold of a tray of beautifully baked apple pies. "That it is Gid, that it is, don't go nowhere ya hear, the misses got something to tell ya." The fox cocked his head a little and whipped his paws off on his apron as he followed the bunny to the stand where Mrs. Hopps was fanning herself in the shade. "Now that's one way to stay cool I do say, what can I do ya for Ma'am?" In a split second Mrs. Hopps took her fan and smacked the fox on the back of his head. The fox reeled back and rubbed the back of his head, "Oh jeez Mrs. H, what was that fer?" The mother bunny reached into her pocket for something, "Judy has been trying to get ahold of you all weekend, she says she's been texting the number she has for you but you are just not replying." The fox looked down at the smartphone that was being held in front of his face with texts from Judy to her mother describing her dilemma. "Oh well, that's on account-a I don't really have a real fancy machine like yours ma'am those things scare the dickens out of me." Gideon reaches in his own pocket and pulls out the cell phone used for his business, an old Nokia cell phone from the stone ages. "If not for the help from Travis I would barely know how to call someone on one of these things to be truthful."

The fox found himself standing outside the doors of the Pounced Cell Phone Company store, the only one in the tri-burrow area. To his dismay he could not arrange a time where he and Travis would have the time off to go upgrade his phone, Travis would know what to do at a place like this, he was sure of it. Alas he would have to take this plunge by himself, he was uneasy but he found the will to open the doors to venture inside the pure white building. He immediately regretted the decision as soon as he stepped a paw inside the building, the room was full wall to wall with phones and phone accessories. He swore he saw more cases for phones than he did actual phones. If you could even call what he was laying his eyes on as phones, they looked like miniature television sets to the fox. "Where in tarnation are the buttons?" Gideon was being helped by a panther in a bright yellow t-shirt that read "The future is one tap away." "How can I text my friend if ther's no buttons on this thing? What am I even paying fer if there ain't no buttons? Don't sound like such a smart phone to me." It took a good hour and a half and all the patients the panther could muster to explain the broad strokes of a touchscreen and its properties. When a purchase was finally made (The I-Claw 4) Gideon walked out of the store with a grin from ear to ear. "Ha, this is easier than I expected, not much to it really, even got the weather on here ain't that fancy!" The fox sat in his car in the parking lot for a good hour just fiddling with his new toy and feeling like he was one of those characters from the city he saw on the TV so often. After setting a background wallpaper of a cornfield, and inputting all his contacts both personal and business, he set off down the road brimming with confidence and self-esteem.

"Well I'll be Gideon Grey with a smartphone this I must see" – Judy Hopps

"Believe it bunny, I can't believe I've been so long without this thing,

I purchased what they call an app, been tossing birds at pigs all day." – Gideon Grey

"Oh no, you found games now there's no turning back :P." – Judy Hopps

"Sorry about missing you the other day, I would never have thought

that you would be in Zootopia, Nick said something about a meeting?" – Judy Hopps

"Travis has been trying to expand the business into the city" – Gideon Grey

"So I went and met with some folks and been waiting to hear back from" – Gideon Grey

"That's so awesome! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you Gideon" – Judy Hopps

"Actually I've been trying to get ahold of you for a bit now,

What do you think about coming back into the city again?" – Judy Hopps

"What for?" – Gideon Grey

"Nick and I are going to the new Gazelle concert since a friend has some extra tickets

would love for you to come and get the full city night time experience! You can stay

at my place for the night." – Judy Hopps

Gideon was once again on the train speeding into the city of Zootopia, this time the night time sights were greeting him rather than signaling to end of his day. The only experience the fox had ever had to attending a concert was the local barn dances in the tri-burrows and since this was the city it only made sense to Gideon to dress up. He had to do some digging in his bottom draw at home to get to some of the clothing he had not worn in some time. He was sporting a button up silk brown t-shirt with a red stripped tie, his shirt was tucked into a pair of blue jeans that was neatly cuffed and fitted just right. His once again felt his paws sweating as he felt a combination of excitement and anxiety, coming to the city twice in one week was taking a toll on the country fox. The train slowed down as it entered the station, the fox exited and looked around for any sign of his bunny friend.

Down a ways, towards the entrance, he saw a rather small bunny jumping up and down waving her arms around to get the attention of the fox. Judy jumped in for a hug which took the fox by surprise and almost doubled over on himself. Nick was smiling behind her and went in for a handshake. "Ok guys, Ben just texted me, either we get there soon or he and the chief are going in without us sooooo let's get a move on shall we." Gideon's ears perked up when he heard mention of the name. Ben? Could it be the officer behind the counter? He couldn't help but feel his nerves returning to him, but shook it from his head and followed the two out of the station. Walking down the streets of Zootopia at night was like a completely different city all together, the night life here was everything that he came to expect from watching on the TV. Gideon and Judy stayed behind a bit talking and catching up on the everyday life in the burrows while Nick walked ahead texting. "Miss Benson did WHAT?" Judy threw both of her paws to her muzzle in astonishment. "I swear on a stack-o bibles Judes she got the broom and stormed out towards the youngn's I could have sworn she was out for murder." The two giggled and continued to swap stories of their day to day lives.

They finally arrived at the large stadium that the concert was being held at, at this point Gideon was just used to being out of words, he had never seen so many people in one place. Nick got a text and lead both Judy and Gideon to a location near a sign that read "VIP" standing right underneath was a rather large muscular bull and Gideon's stomach quickly knotted. Right beside the bull stood the Cheetah from his last visit, he was in civilian clothing and had thick framed glasses on, but all he needed to confirm that it was indeed the same creature was the smile. His smile made the fox smile, his knot grew tighter and his paws started to sweat once again. He needed to get ahold of himself this was not like the fox at all, he needed to regain his composer. The two groups met, Nick and Benjamin started immediately talking about some work related inside joke, and Judy introduced her boss to her home town friend. Gideon shook the hand of the large bull, Bogo was his name, he talked about how proud he was in Judy and how much she had down in the little time she had been there. Gideon was only half listening to him, he couldn't stop glancing over at Nick and the cheetah.

The concert was in mid swing, loud was an understatement. The stadium was roaring with the cries of fans and lights were flashing all over the place, Gideon was afraid he was going to have an episode of some sorts from the over stimulation of the experience as a whole. The fox was seated next to Judy who was jumping up and down and talking to Nick, who was video taking the stage as per her request. Down the line of furs he could barely make out the bull and next to him was Benjamin. For someone of his size he was surprisingly agile, he was dancing in perfect unison to the tigers on the stage, it seemed he had memorized all their moves. It was at this time that the fox noticed some things. The cheetah's tail was long and thick, his body was much tubbier than his but for some reason the fox admired the way he carried his weight. His eye's, were brown. He was snapped out of his trance by Judy touching his arm. When he turned to face her he saw that both Nick and their chief were walking out to the aisle in quite a hurry. "I'm so sorry Gideon" The fox saw that the bunny had a rather worried look on her face. "We just got a call in from headquarters, a major break in a case that we have been working on for months, we need to head to the rainforest district, is it ok if I leave you here with Benjamin he can walk you to my apartment after the concert I'll meet you back there ok." Gideon could see the urgency in the bunny's eye's and gave a nod, "No need to worry about me Judes, go get em miss officer"

All through the concert Gideon's mind was racing, what would he say once the concert was over? Did Benjamin know he was supposed to walk him to Judy's apartment? He didn't want to be any trouble to the cheetah, he barely even knew him. Yet his heart was pounding uncontrollably at the thought of being able to even talk to the big feline. Why was that? Before he knew it the singer on stage was giving her final encore and thanking the crowd for attending and the lights flashed back on in the stadium. Gideon looked down at the concrete ground and twirled his paw pads together fidgeting. He looked up and when his eyes got to level ground he was staring right into the eyes of the cheetah. "THAT WAS THE BEST PERFORMANCE EVERRRR!" The fox was knocked off his feet and fell right on his ass, luckily the fall was cushioned by his bushy tail. The cheetah laughed a bit and helped the fox off the ground. "Sorry about that Gideon, Gazelle is just such a goddess in vocal form, I just can't believe the concert is over already." "I. sure was something wasn't it." Gideon regained his footing and looked around at all the fans who were now chatting amongst themselves gushing over the nights events. "It's too bad the others missed this encore it was the best encore I've ever seen of Gazelle and TRUST MEEEEE I have seen a LOT" Gideon couldn't believe it, he was really talking to this guy, this person that had been in his thoughts for a week straight. The cheetah whipped his head around at the fox "Gideon, I know this amazing bar down the street it's where all the fans go after a concert, the bar plays the greatest hits of Gazelle on repeat, we HAVE to go." Gideon nodded and replied "Sounds like a plan Mr. Benjamin, I've been a fixin for a good drink for a bit." Benjamin lead the way out of the stadium dodging and weaving through the crowd of hyped up fans.

Finally they got out of the stadium and it was pitch black outside, the street was lit up by neon signs and taxi's weaving through traffic carrying passengers to their next night club or bar. They only had to walk a good 5 minutes till they reached the bar in question. The Pony Bar, was the name, it seemed small and charming from the outside. Once inside though it was a mess of neon lights and loud music that made the concert seem like a quiet event. The fox stood at the entrance, he immediately realized that he stood out in his formal attire. Slightly embarrassed and ready to turn tail and run, he was stopped by a paw grabbing his own. His stomach immediately filled with butterflies and he saw Benjamin take ahold of him and guide him to the middle of one of the many bars in the room. He could feel the warmth of his touch, he could no longer hear the loud music or hear the chatter of the hundreds of creatures dancing and talking. He could only feel the fur of the cheetah rub against his own paw pads. He was snapped back to reality when he was seated at a stool and his paw was released.

"MATTHEW! Over here, were gonna need two Pink Squirrels pronto thanks a bunch." It seemed Benjamin knew quite a few people here, must be a regular. Set in front of the fox, was what looked like more of a juice or lemonade than an alcoholic drink. He looked over at the cheetah who took a sip and giggled with delight. After tasting the drink it was very different from the straight whisky the fox had grown accustomed to in the country. Fruity was not necessarily bad for this fox since he did spend most of his time baking pies with the fruitiest of flavors imaginable. He just never expected this to be in his drink. "Matthew keep em coming till I fall off this stool or so help me, so what did you think about the concert foxy?" Gideon turned his head to face the smiling feline who was resting his head on his paw and looking intensely at the fox. "Well… it certainly wasn't anything you'd see in the tri-burrows I'll tell ya that." The cheetah laughed and started on his second bright pink drink. The alcohol was taking affect and eased the fox up a little, his started to settle and he was finally starting to relax for the first time that night. The cheetah in the stool was a funny sight, he could barely fit on the stool because of his size but he seemed to be quite comfortable. After about the forth glasses the fox and the feline were talking loud and covered all sorts of conversation points. Gideon talked about his pie business and about some of his rude customers, about the meeting and how his fears of not being good enough for the city in terms of business, about how it had made him doubt himself. The fox was also getting to know the cat on a very personal level, that night he learned that Benjamin loved his job at the precinct, he was from a family of 8 brothers and sisters, and also he had an uncle that worked in politics. Gideon finally felt like he was getting to a level of comfortability with someone he met in the city, he started smiling and his stomach was filled with butterflies once again. He could not imagine wanting to be anywhere else than where he was at that moment with Benjamin.

The fox's ears began to ring, his head gave a sharp painful prick and his neck was stiff. The fox had felt this feeling many times before in the past. He had drunk a little too much and was experiencing a very strong hangover. Trying to open his eyes and look around was a task, the room he was in was out of focus and his head was pounding. Finally he regained his consciousness, he was laying in a bed, but who's bed? Gideon's eyes shot open wide and his stomach feel flat, he was under the covers in a bed….. completely naked. His breathing started to quicken as he looked around the room trying to make sense of something, was he in Judy's apartment? He wanted to get up but his body was still aching and in utter shock of the situation. He then heard something from outside the room. A voice that was familiar to him. The voice was humming a song that he recognized from the concert last night, and his nose started to twitch as he sniffed around at his surroundings. He could smell the scent of eggs, bacon, pancakes, and what he could only describe as was his own fox musk coming from his exposed private parts underneath the sheets. He looked to his right and saw his clothing laid all around the room. The humming voice…it had to be. It was Benjamin, and Gideon was in HIS bed. The fox was on a verge of a nervous breakdown. What happened last night?


	3. Chapter 3 - Put Your Paws In The Air

Chapter 3 – Put Your Paws In The Air

"Gideon Grey, you get ahold of 'yer self right now." The fox wrapped the blanket from the bed around his waist and climbed out of bed. Once on his feet he felt the dizziness start to fade, he gathered his cloths from around the room and put them on the bed. Then he heard a knock at the bedroom door but before the fox could say anything the previously humming feline walked in. "Wakey Wakey foxyyyyy!" Even though Gideon had a blanket covering his nether regions he still felt exposed and embarrassed and most certainly lost for words. "Oh no no no no, you can't wear those again, you spilt alcohol all of those mister, here look in the top door and you can borrow some of my cloths while I wash these." Benjamin walked right passed the fox and grabbed the cloths off the bed and walked right back out the door stopping right outside. "Oh and hurry up I got some breakfast for you that might help with that wicked hangover you must have." Once gone, the fox walked over to the drawer and opened the top shelf. "Oh dear lord almighty."

The bedroom door opened up and there stood the orange fox in what looked like a certified clown outfit. Though the clothing he had on was stylish, it was 5 times too big for him. He shuffled over towards the smell of the amazing food and found the cat's apartment kitchen. To his amazement it was extremely charming, the overall theme was an airy white wash with hints of forest green splashed around. The window that was over by the sink was open and was covered with flowers and plants. The circular table in the middle of the kitchen was a beautiful antic vintage country style table, one that the fox had seen multiple times in different homew from the burrows. The breeze that came wafting from the window picked up the scent of the home cooked meal and lite the room up with elements that ignited all the senses. Snapping out of his daze the fox noticed that the cheetah was sitting at the table reading a newspaper and drinking some coffee. Gideon walked over to the table and sat across from Benjamin, in front of his seat was a plate of three pancakes, some scrambled eggs, and fresh fruit with a glass of orange juice. He started to eat the food which was out of this world delicious, but he still felt uneasy.

He was unsure of what happened last night and exactly how he came to be in that bed. "I hope I wasn't any trouble to you last night Mr. Benjamin. Seems I gots me a mighty headache and can't remember much." The fox was rubbing the back of his head and smiling to hide his discomfort of the situation. Benjamin finished the sip of coffee he was in the middle of and put down his morning paper, when doing so he revealed his own plate of breakfast. Which consisted of 2 pancakes and on top, 3 donuts all different sprinkle verities. "Oh god no, you were no trouble at all Gideon, last night was the most fun I had in a while I will admit. Though it seemed you had never had a Pink Squirrel in your life since you kept backing those down one right after another. Most zootopians know that Pink Squirrels are the deadly killers they take a bit to take affect but they are a very strong drink in the long run and it seems they might have beaten you in the end foxy." The feline started to giggle and Gideon's cheeks went bright red as he continued, "Once I started to notice you had lost a bit of control over yourself I stopped the tab but I'm afraid I was a little too late you were pretty far gone at that point. I do apologize It was my irresponsible behaver that lead to your intoxication last night, most unbefitting of a cop I must say. While getting you up off the chair it had seemed you spilt one of your drinks all over your nice cloths and Judy's apartment was just so far away I decided to bring you to my place to get you into a bed asap." The fox was taking in all this information and processing it as fast as the country fox's brain could process, he was now one hundred percent embarrassed and completely flustered. How could he let Benjamin of all people see him drunk and flopping around like some kind of crazy fox. "Well I finally got you to my apartment," The cat gestured around him, "I stripped you of your cloths and got you right into bed, I slept on the couch."

These were the words that Gideon were dreading, STRIPPED HIM, did that mean. That HAD to mean Benjamin saw, he saw the fox… Gideon was breathing heavily and was looking away from the cat. Benjamin noticed the flustered fox and leaned in a little "Don't worry Gideon I was gentle and you have nothing to be ashamed of." He giggled a little and leaned back into his chair. He proceeded to pop a donut in his mouth and took a sip of coffee. Then there was a loud ding that came from a room in the back, "Oh, speak of the devil there's your cloths lemme go grab them for you and you can get changed proper." As the cheetah left the room Gideon wanted to cry he was so embarrassed, though he did find it odd for a second, why this was bothering him so much. He had drunken nights before where a couple of buddies of his got too drunk and passed out. Was all in good fun, but this time it was different, he felt like he wanted to put on the best for this stranger, a guy he barely knew. He felt like he smudged his self-image and that Benjamin thought less of him now. When the feline came back with Gideon's cloths all folded in a pile the fox reached out and received them. "I..I….I want to apologize Benjamin, the way I acted last night showed very little control and I…. must have been quite a burden on you with my drunken state. I don't want you to.." Gideon was cut off by the cheetah, who put his paw on the fox's lips. "Gideon you were fine, I've had my fair share of mishaps with the harsh mistress that is Pink Squirrels, now go change we have places to go."

Before Gideon could inquire about where exactly he was going he was being pushed towards the bedroom. Once there the fox stripped the oversized clothing off his body and got changed. He was about to leave the room but stopped. He looked around the room and suddenly it struck him. This was Benjamin's room. He walked around and took it all in, posters of singers were tapped all around his room, Gazelle and more that he didn't recognize. A work desk was near the only window, on top was a laptop and a flower pot filled with some spring flowers. The laptop was open and the background image was a picture of Benjamin with Nick Wilde at an arcade, the two cops must be close. He headed over to the door and was about to leave then he noticed, framed on the wall next to the door, was Benjamin's Police Academy graduation certificate. Once outside of the room Benjamin was waiting in the open door to his apartment. "Judy and Nick are meeting us for dinner tonight, thought we could go have some fun till then, and heard there is an amazing new fair on the other side of City Central."

This city was just too damn big! After taking one of the city trains to the south side of City Central it was like a whole other city entirely. This part of town was full of large hotels and big theme parks, it was a mess of vacation homes and themed restaurants. "The Tundra Town Fair", it was a fair that was themed after all things that were in the Zootopia Tundra Town District. It was where animals that would normally not be able to visit the district because of the intensely cold weather but could still indulge in the culture. The whole fair was runned by polar bears and penguins, and the rides and the food were all Tundra Town specialties. "I heard that their icy berry funnel cakes are the _BEST_!" The cheetah was running around from booth to booth taking in all the delicious varieties of foods. Gideon had to admit he was enjoying himself quite a bit, they had already played a bunch of different kinds of fair games and watched some shows from Tundra Town performers. He was sitting at one of the picnic tables in the food area and saw Benjamin come back with an icy funnel cake. "Here dig in, you will not believe what your taste buds are telling you when you eat this _AMAZING_ rare delicacy!" Gideon had to admit as an accomplished pastry chief this was a rather tasty and well put together dish, especially for a fair. "Oooo, you got something right there foxy." Benjamin pointed at Gideon's cheek, who started to lick his lips frantically he couldn't handle any more embarrassment for one day. The fox looked up, "Did I get 'er?" Benjamin laughed, licked his paw and leaned into Gideon and rubbed his paw on the fox's cheek. "There you go! All handsome again!" Gideon's cheeks once again went rosy red and his heart skipped a beat.

To avoid eye contact Gideon looked over to the side and got a glimpse of the Ferris Wheel. "Well I must say, that does take me back, I haven't been on one of those in some time." Gideon got up from the table and grabbed Benjamin's paw and lead him towards the Ferris Wheel. "Ummm wait Gid.." The fox couldn't hear the cheetah behind him and lead the way to the large ride. "Lord almighty, 'wud you look at that, must be 3,000 feet tall or something." Benjamin looked up at the tall fair ride and hacked down a very big lump in his throat. "Gideon, I don't know so much about this, I got this thing with heights." The fox turned around and looked at the cheetah who was staring straight up at the ride with a worried look on his face. "Oh Mr. Benjamin you done have to worry these things are safer than you think, we can ride together I promise nothing will happen." Benjamin's eyes were still fixed right on the ride but he decided to give his fear a try. Gideon was getting seated in the seat made for two and noticed that it might be a little bit of a tight ride with the cheetahs size. Benjamin got settled in his seat and the fox was right his more than ample stomach was rubbing against the fox's side and the two animal's fur were rubbing together. This felt amazing, at this point Gideon was done with questioning why he felt all these things, he just knew he loved being this close to the animal and having being forced to snuggle and squeeze in tight with each other. Though the fox might have been enjoying it more than the cat since Benjamin's eyes were focused straight in front of himself and he had on a blank stare.

The ride made a noise and the cart began to move, as soon as this happened the cheetah made a squeaking noise and wrapped both of his arms around the arm of the fox. Gideon gave a gigantic smile and giggled a little. "Don't worry none Benjamin, it's gone be ok I promise. You can hold on to me as much as you like you hear?" The cat might not have heard much of what the fox was saying since he was starting to rise much higher than he had ever experienced. Gideon took this opportunity to look at the animal next to him, I mean really look. He saw his fur move in the wind, he started noticing all the different shapes his spots were on his cheeks, his eyes, his thick but short ears. He could feel the warmth of the two furry creatures, the fur of one rubbing against the fur of the other. He was so happy to be here right at that moment. The fox broke free of his trance and noticed they were nearing the top of the ride. Surly this was the scariest point for anyone let alone someone with a fear of heights. The fox dipped his head down and whispered into Benjamin's ear. "It's ok Mr. Benjamin you just squeeze as hard you would like, it will be over in just a bit." As they reached the top, a noise, much like the one heard earlier, was made and the ride jolted to a stop. The foxes eyes grew wide and he looked down from the side and saw a couple of polar bear workers gathering at the bottom and talking quite franticly. "ooooooOOOOAOAOAHHAHAHHHHH GIDEON WHAT IS GOING ON?" The cheetah's eyes were shut as tight as they could go and he was shaking uncontrollably. "Uhhh, it seems they might be having some problems down there. But don't you worry I'm a-sure they will fix it right up." The fox, without even thinking, found himself stroking the cheetahs arm in attempts to calm the large animal down. Suddenly the fox felt a rumble from his pants pocket, seems he had gotten a text. Without moving the cart much he fished his new smartphone from his pocket and read the text.

"Hey Gideon! Me and Nick are almost off of work, how's your date going?" – Judy Hopps


	4. Chapter 4 - A Movie In Central

Chapter 4 - A Movie In Central

DATE? What was Judy talking about? He wasn't on a date….was he? He turned to look at the frightened cheetah and he wondered. On a date with Benjamin? I mean it was true the fox was gay, he had known it since he was a teenage fox, and it was one of the main reasons for a lot of his childhood aggression. Once he was older he realized that he was different and that he was more drawn toward guys. He had only told a handful of people, namely his parents and Travis, but since he was so busy with his career he never actually did anything about it. I mean Travis had tried to set him up with dates but the fox always made an excuse as to why he couldn't go, mostly due to the fox's shyness. Finally the sound of the machine below signaled and the Ferris Wheel started to turn again. Once back down safely on the ground Benjamin ran into the grass and kissed the ground. "THANK YOU GOD, I SWEAR ILL NEVER SIN AGAIN." The fox chuckled at the melodramatics of the feline.

"Well I gotta say I would have never guessed that something like dat would ever happen I guess it was my fault for pressuring you into going on Mr. Benjamin I do apologize." The fox and the cheetah were now walking out of the fair and on to the street. "Well I will say that I can AT LEAST brag around the office that I conquered my fear of heights, Bogo will be impressed when I tell him!" Time had gone by so fast, by the time they made it out on the streets it was night time and Zootopia was once again coming to life with all sorts of night time activities and parties. "Well we have a good 3 hours before we meet Judy and Nick what you want to do foxy?" Gideon looked up at the tall buildings and wondered just what did he want to do? "Well, I did hear about them big old movie theatres you city folk go to…if that's something you'd wanna do." The cheetah swung his head around, "O, M, Goodness, have you seen the new Avengfurs that just came out?" Gideon was taken aback once again by the feline's sudden outburst, "I can't say I have Mr. Benjamin." The spotted cat took ahold of the foxes paw and lead him through the night time crowd and towards a large building with flashing lights.

This movie theater looked just like the ones he saw in the movies, large and bright with what looked like hundreds of movies playing. Back at the burrows they only had one theater it was far from grand. Once inside the smell of buttery popcorn and the noise of a town full of Zootopians filled the fox's senses. This was an experience, one he would never forget. Once in line for tickets Gideon pulled out his phone once again and read the bunny's text. "date" He wanted to say something to the cat in front of him, but he just wouldn't know how to phrase it. Did Benjamin think this was a date? Was this country fox so dumb that he didn't even realize that this was something that was set up? He would feel so much better if he just knew what Benjamin was thinking.

They got their tickets and started to head down the hall to their designated theater. Gideon had in one paw a bucket full of popcorn and in the other paw an extra-large cup of Coke. Once outside of the doors they were about to enter, the fox grabbed ahold of the cheetahs arm and swung him around so that they were face to face. The fox, holding his phone in one hand, wanted to say something, anything. But instead something came over him, maybe it was having the feline facing him and looking into his eyes, the fox leaned in quickly and kissed the cheetah.

It wasn't a long kiss, but it wasn't a short one either, but it felt like a blissful eternity. The fox's eyes were closed tight and to his surprise the cat was KISSING HIM BACK! Finally the fox broke the kiss and came back up and saw that the cheetah was bright red underneath his yellow fur. "Benjamin, is this a date?" He asked this but felt like he was doing this all in the completely wrong order but he was this far, now he had to go all the way. However for the first time since their meeting Gideon actually felt like the cheetah was at a loss for words. "Well…..when you came to the precinct a week ago….I kind of got the feeling you might bat for my team and I asked Judy if she might try and set something up. Honestly I thought you were the most handsome guy I had ever met." If anything else, this was the most surprising thing Benjamin had ever said to him. He had never thought much of himself, he was a dumb country bumpkin who was chubby and unappealing. "Benjamin, I haven't been able to git you off 'ma mind since I met you, I'm glad you asked Judy. I have seen so many amazing things here in the city and none of them compare to how amazing you are." The fox gave Benjamin a big smile and took his paw and lead him into the theater where they sat next to each other. Benjamin took ahold of the fox's paw and rubbed his fingers between the fingers of the handsome orange fox. Gideon got out his phone and sent Judy a reply.

"Thanks Judy, the date is going amazing!" – Gideon Grey


End file.
